Economists suggest there is no rush to ease the quarantine, but criticize one restriction: it is the biggest mistake.

According to N. Mačiulis, chief economist at Swedbank, it is too early to think about population mobility and the liberalization of the economy.

“We still have quite a few infections, there is not an excess of deaths under control. The priority must be to control the virus,” he told Delfi Day.

He said it, citing examples from countries like Ireland, Israel and the Czech Republic: “The rush is making useless all the efforts we have made in two months.”

In his opinion, the quarantine mitigation plan should be very moderate and slow.

At the time, economist Rimantas Rudzkis said he was critical of some coronavirus control measures, especially the ban on moving within the country.

“I would more like to criticize the ban on moving between municipalities. I think the impact on the spread of the virus here is minimal, perhaps with the exception of tourist regions, perhaps it is necessary [judėjimą] limit ”, said the economist.

In his opinion, this restriction has seriously impaired people’s quality of life.

“It so happened that young people live more in large cities, they remain relatives in the regions, parents and now it is forbidden for the elderly to communicate with their children and grandchildren in an attempt to improve the indicators a bit.” <…> Here, I think, is the biggest mistake, “said R. Rudzkis.

N. Mačiulis also agrees that although it was necessary during the main holidays of the year, this restriction is probably excessive at this time.

“I think it was justified and motivated during the Christmas period, when Lithuania was leading in terms of the number of infected people and it was necessary to limit the spread. Now it has a potential surplus. From personal experience, I can say that it really puts a lot of pressure on the quality of life for both me and my loved ones, ”said Swedbank’s chief economist.

Economists agree that, with the exception of some sectors of the economy, the indicators are good and the crisis is not visible.

“It is already clear that the economic impact is much milder. We are seeing minimal negative impact on retail and, unlike last spring, there is no negative impact on foreign trade. The industry is booming across the world. world.

There are several sectors in a full pit without a light tunnel at the end – the accommodation, catering, leisure, entertainment sectors – there is a deep recession, but in almost all the others we see a great situation: warehouses and population and business they are growing, financial performance is excellent, employment is increasing, average wages are increasing, “said N. Mačiulis.

However, Professor R. Rudzkis says that looking to the future, his mood is less optimistic.

“A good background is the ‘money rain’, which is certainly not eternal. Now that all of Europe and part of Lithuania are awash in money, interest rates will be zero, but it certainly won’t be forever. “A little above Europe and the world, there is a threat of inflation, copper prices are breaking records, we are seeing higher oil prices than ever,” he explained.

According to him, it is important to take into account the fact that Lithuania is currently more dependent on world markets than in 2008.

“What happens if inflation exceeds 2% in 2-3 years? The level set by central banks or if interest rates will not start to rise, and [vykdyti] opposite monetary policy. So, of course, Europe faces a serious threat. We (Lithuania – Delfi) are really in debt to state and private companies, households, but now we are even more dependent on world markets than in 2007–2008. And if problems arise in the EU market, we will not avoid them either, “said R. Rudzkis on the” Delfi diena “program.